


Blood Fueled Confessions

by prettycheese21



Series: The (Random) Misadventures of Mr. and Mrs. Barton [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Injury, Confessions, F/M, Feelings, Injury, Major Character Injury, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Reader-Insert, Tumblr request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 13:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4667672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettycheese21/pseuds/prettycheese21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After (Name) is fatally injured on a mission, Clint does some thinking and decides to finally tell her how he feels. Will she survive long enough for him to tell her? Will she even like him back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Fueled Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> The result of a request on Tumblr. I ended up scrapping the first draft of this story because I didn't like it. Though, I will admit, I rather like how this one turned out. Note that this is definitely NOT Age of Ultron compliant (aka Clint isn't married). It said it in the tags but I wanted to restate it.  
> Let me know what you think in the comments or by leaving a kudos.  
> Overall, just enjoy! :)

   Things had been going smoothly. All they had to do was take out the threat, a rogue militant and known enemy of SHIELD. The Avengers had done that, rather easily with minimal injuries. Too easily, in fact. They should have known he'd have backup, followers to his cause.

   (Name) and Clint, who were the watchful eyes from a distance, didn't even see it coming until it was too late. Faithful followers of the target's cause had attempted to take (Name) and Clint out in their perches, trying to weaken the Avengers' defense system. This had varying degrees of success.

   Clint had gotten out without a scratch, having taken them out with an arrow to their necks. (Name) hadn't been so lucky. While she'd been able to take out two of her attackers, the third man managed to get a couple of shots off, hitting her in the abdomen. By the time the others had gotten up to her location, the third attacker was gone and (Name) was bleeding out on the rooftop.

   It had taken ten minutes for the jet to arrive to their location, which had been somewhere in small town Pennsylvania, and another thirty for the jet to take them back New York. By that time, (Name) had lost too much blood and was too far into shock to treat her at the Tower.

   Clint remembered how he felt when he'd felt her clammy skin with his hands, trying desperately to keep her awake and not succumb to the blood loss. He remembered the way her eyes slowly closed moments before they'd landed at SHIELD Headquarters. He certainly wouldn't forget the frantic way the nurses and doctors rushed her inside, shouting words that he'd only heard a few times before. And those situations hadn't ended well for the person they were talking about.

   While the others had taken to sitting in the waiting area, Clint had chosen to pace the room. (Name) couldn't die. At least, she couldn't before he'd told her how he felt. Was that selfish and irrational to think? Maybe a little, but at this point he was anything but rational. One minute, she'd been fine. They'd even been joking about how easy the mission had been and what they should do to celebrate. Chinese and a movie, they'd decided. And now she might not even make it through surgery? That was fucking Clint up majorly.

   "Clint, sit down. I know you're worried, but pacing isn't going to help anything," Steve stated, looking at his friend with concern.

   "I can't sit down, Steve," he replied. "What if she doesn't make it?"

   "They said it was a pretty straightforward surgery," Steve told Clint in an attempt to calm him.

   '"They also said she'd lost a lot of blood, so they're not sure how well she'll hold up when they have to slice her open to get the damn bullets out," Clint shot back.

   "You can't think like that."

   "Too late, Cap," Clint ran a hand through his hair.

   Natasha had silently watched her friend for a few more moments before saying, "You should tell her. When she wakes up, you should tell her." She knew he'd know what she meant.

   He sighed, "I can't do that, Nat."

   "Why the hell not?" she asked, rather confused.

   "Because she won't feel the same. You know that."

   "Actually, I know she will," she stated. "And I don't understand how you don't."

   "Are we talking about Clint's crush on (Name) or (Name)'s crush on Clint? Because at this point, I don't think there's much of a difference," Tony chimed in. "They're both too stupid to act on their feelings even though it's _very_ clear they like each other back."

   Natasha gave Clint a look, "See? Even Tony gets it. You need to quit being scared of rejection when there's no need to be. She likes you back, Clint. I know that, Tony knows that, and you know that. And I'm pretty sure anyone that has seen the two of you interact knows it too. Just tell her when she wakes up."

   " _If_ she wakes up," he muttered as he looked down at his hands, which were still stained red from her blood.

* (Timeskip) *

   It had been a long surgery, but (Name) had pulled through. She'd had to be transfused a couple times, considering she'd lost almost her entire blood volume when the blood she lost in surgery was combined with the blood she'd lost in the field. The doctors had said after a stay at the hospital to monitor for infection and other complications, she'd be free to go home to finish her recovery.

   Clint had taken to staying with her, to keep an eye on her. It might have also had to do with Natasha threatening bodily harm if he didn't tell her as soon as possible.

   (Name) had woken up to the sight of Clint's head resting on her leg, soft snores coming from his mouth as he dozed. She stared at his sleeping form. He was rather adorable when he didn't look like he wanted to murder someone. On instinct, she ran her fingers gently through his hair.

   This, of course, woke him up. His body shot up, causing her hand to fall back onto the bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Clint seemed to notice for the first time that (Name) was awake. "Hey," he said softly, his voice slightly gruff from sleep. "How're you feeling?"

   "Like I got shot," she responded hoarsely. "Twice."

   "Well, that's because you did," Clint stated.

   "Oh." That explained a lot. Blood loss always seemed to make her feel like she'd been run over repeatedly with a truck. "Am I going to be okay?"

   "Probably," was all Clint said. He looked down at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck rather awkwardly. How in the world was he going to tell her?

   "What's up, Clint? You look like you got something on your mind," (Name) asked, noticing his uncomfortable, tense body language.

   He sighed, "Look, I gotta tell you something. But you have to promise not to interrupt me, 'cause I can only say this once." She nodded, waiting for him to start talking.  A deep breath and then, "When you got shot, you lost a lot of blood. We... well, _I_ thought you weren't going to make it for a while there. So it got me thinking about some things, and it made me realize that there are some things you should know."

   Clint shifted in the chair and said, "I... I like you, (Name). A lot, actually. I can't really explain it, but it's just... you. You're smart, funny, kind, stupidly brave, and a bunch of other things I'm not going to waste your time telling you. I didn't tell you before 'cause I was scared of what'd you say, mainly you not feeling the same. But I had to tell you now. After watching you almost die in my arms, I had to get that off my chest. I had to know if I even had a chance. So... do I, have a chance that is?"

   (Name) blinked. Did Clint just say he liked her? Did Clint Barton, the man she'd had a crush on since she became a part of SHIELD, just say he liked her back? Her bloodless, drug addled brain was having a lot of trouble processing this information. She looked at him, gave him a small smile, and said, "Yeah, I'd say you do. But I don't want to talk about this right now. Actually, it's more of I _can't_ talk about this right now because I feel like I'm about to pass out again. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to take a nap and when I wake up, we're going to talk about this. Okay?"

   "Really? I have a chance?" he asked excitedly. He shook his head, clearing his throat, getting himself back under control, "I mean, yeah, of course. We'll talk when you wake up."

   She gave a breathy chuckle, closing her eyes, as she said, "This is why I like you, Clint." With that sentence, she fell back into unconsciousness.

   Clint's face broke out into a wide grin as he leaned back in his chair and watched her sleep. (Name) liked him back. Maybe her getting shot hadn't been that terrible. Okay, if Natasha had heard that thought, she would have smacked him upside the head. But still... (Name) liked him back! They'd been right, Tony and Natasha. He really had been stupid for not telling her sooner.

**Author's Note:**

> Like it? Want more?  
> Let me know!  
> Want to request something yourself?  
> You can request something in the comments or by going on my Tumblr (notsoobviousfangirl) and leaving a request there.  
> Thanks for the read :)


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